Secret Garden
by bakayaro onna
Summary: One-shot. Shuichi makes a discovery while exploring the Uesugi family’s garden.


**Title:** Secret Garden  
**Author:** bakayaro onna  
**Category:** Fluff – well, it's not really fluffy, but it's not really a comedy or drama, either. It's just a slice-of-life.  
**Pairing:** Eiri and Shuichi, naturally, because they're a committed partnership.  
**Started:** 7/20/07  
**Completed:** 4/21/2009  
**Word Count:** 1605

**Rating:** PG, only because it is about two men in a relationship.  
**Disclaimer:** Gravitation is the property of Maki Murakami, Sony and TokyoPop. No money is being made from any ventures with these characters. I am just a fan who writes and draws in this universe because of my love of the series. However, Sena (E&S's cat) is my original character and belongs to me.

**Summary:** One-shot. Shuichi makes a discovery while exploring the Uesugi family's garden.

**Acknowledgements:** Beta-ed by Aja, who has been swamped by my stories lately. Thank you, Aja! And thanks to all of you who continue to read my stories. While you may not comment, I know you're out there and you're selecting my work for your 'favorites'. I greatly appreciate your support!

**Author Note:** No, I don't know where my ideas come from, but I thank my muses they steer me away from the ten worst Gravitation story scenarios. I know my tales are not high drama angst-fests – they are about two contented people who are happy together.

For those following M2: I have the next chapter ready-to-go, but I wanted to put this out first, since it's spring-themed.

* * *

Secret Garden

The argument started without any warning and Shu had no clue what had spurred on the heated discussion. One minute, they had all been sitting quietly around the low table, sipping Sencha tea, talking about mutual neighborhood acquaintances and discussing the different colours and meanings of the blooming flowers. The next, Papa Uesugi and Eiri were standing and screaming into each other's faces. Tatsuha and Mika immediately joined in the row. Shuichi made a hasty retreat out to the engawa, leaving the three Uesugi siblings barking loudly and nastily at each other while the family patriarch added his own blend of venom to the verbal fire.

He slid the shoji door closed, slipped on a pair of setta and moved quietly away from the building. The bellowing voices from inside started to recede as he walked farther into the garden's landscaped grounds. He turned back quickly at a sudden crash - a ragged hole was now in the shoji wall. Another object suddenly pierced through the screen paper and landed with an audible 'thump' on the engawa. At this safe distance, Shuichi could not see what had made the holes but he was thankful he was not in that room or standing close to the screen wall at the moment. All the Uesugi family could throw hard!

Shu fiddled with and loosened his blue and white yukata's obi as he ambled toward the koi pond's bridge. He was relieved he was no longer the object of the family anger. Eiri had finally confronted Father Uesugi about Shuichi a few years ago. The old monk had been told he could either accept the vocalist as Eiri's chosen life partner or he would not see his oldest son again in this lifetime.

The singer stopped at the height of the bridge, leaned on the railing and gazed down at the lazy orange and black koi swimming in the lily pad-dotted dark water. Shu had been proud of his lover for standing up for him, but had been surprised when Eiri's brother and sister also voiced their support. Papa Uesugi finally capitulated, grudgingly, and since then had been almost, but not completely, civil to the singer when they were in the same room together. The old geezer even gave him a single nod of approval when the vocalist had been caught singing a chant of praise in the temple.

Leaving the bridge, he shuffled along the trail in the general direction of the temple. As he considered going there to meditate, Shuichi spied one of the temple cats walking toward him on the same path. It was one of the compound's new, and still skittish, Japanese Bobtail cats, the very one Shu had unsuccessfully tried to win over last time he visited. It had crushed him, especially since their cat Sena had turned him into an avid cat person.

The spotted feline noticed 'the human' on the walkway and dashed into the high bush walls lining that section of the path. As Shu reached the spot where the cat disappeared, he noticed the indentation in the usual straight-cut landscape and decided to investigate the shrubbery a bit. Surprisingly, after just a moment of exploration, Shu discovered a path through the greenery and squeezed his way through the branches.

He was in a maze. After a few dozen steps through the twists and turns, the pathway suddenly opened up and Shu found himself in a small neglected garden, ringed by the tall maze bushes hiding it from the main garden area. Immediately his eyes fell on a dilapidated wooden chair with peeling white paint, a small brown wooden table and two rattan and bamboo stools rotting under the large shade tree in the middle of the little garden. A faded fabric pillow that looked like it had once been the chair's seat cushion was on the ground. After checking it for any dampness, Shu knelt on it and looked around. No stone protection gods, just a stone lantern. A small area with rocks and sand looked like it could have once been a tiny karesansui. A profusion of dead vines clung to the maze wall foliage. Scrubby brown grasses and green weeds poked through the once tended flower beds. Peeking though the debris were little dots of colour - yellow, blue, red, pink and white – flowers struggling for light but still living and growing under the tangles. He looked up and noticed a temple bell hanging from one of the tree's branches but the paper tag usually attached to the clapper had torn away long ago so the bell could no longer ring with the light breezes. Higher still, the temple cat was hunched on a thick branch, glaring at him with pale blue eyes.

Soft zephyrs caressingly flowed around him. He relaxed, finding the place even more peaceful than other parts of the temple grounds. Something about this spot was calming and serene. He closed his eyes, let the earlier stress pass away and started quietly humming a slow, gentle min'yō.

Shu did not know how long he stayed in the tranquil garden. Finally, he heard the distinctive swish of heavy silken fabric behind him but did not turn around. Quickly following were the sounds of multiple wrist mala clinking together and a cigarette lighter's click as it fired up.

"I heard your humming. How did you get here?" The deep, rich voice almost resonated in the cozy space. "The entrance is hidden by trees and shrubs."

"I was following one of the temple cats and just stumbled in." The vocalist turned his head and looked at his beautiful blond partner, draped in his black monk robes and smoking. Eiri's facial expression was pinched.

"Something wrong, lover?"

"This was my mother's garden - her... sanctuary from outside. She had read a children's book about a secret garden and made one for herself. She liked coming here and reading in the peace and quiet." The tall blond walked over and lightly kicked a rotting table leg. It crumbled and sagged more. "It was hardly secret to the family but invisible to the untrained eye, and people like temple visitors."

The vocalist stared at the old chair and tried to imagine his lover's mother sitting there with an open book as Eiri sucked in more nicotine and sighed the smoke out through his nose. Kept away from the family shrine with threats by Papa Uesugi, Shu had never seen any photos of the Uesugi matriarch but he knew she would have been beautiful, like her offspring. Long dark hair, gorgeous eyes, elegant hands holding the book…

Eiri's quiet voice interrupted Shu's daydream. "I remember sitting here and listening to her read to me. Sometimes Mika joined us. Besides the classic Japanese folk stories, she would read fairy stories, poetry, folktales and children's fiction from around the world."

Shu looked up and saw the distant 'my past was hell' look in his lover's eyes. He hated when that happened.

The blond continued. "Fairytales. Stories written by dead people. Dead like this place." Shu heard the unspoken. 'Dead like my mother' and cringed inside.

"Eiri," said Shu gently, "it is obvious your mother loved this special spot and while it was her haven from the outside world, she was willing to share it with her children." He elegantly gestured with one hand. "See, even though a lot is dead, life still springs up and flourishes, like kids. The living tree and its spirit protect the youngsters the best she can, sheltering them in her dappled light and shadow, keeping the more severe elements falling from above from landing on them so harshly." Shu smiled as he caught his lover's eyes. "Just like your mom did when you were young and how her spirit does now, even if you think otherwise."

The vocalist watched as a range of emotions flickered in his lover's amber eyes. He sighed when Eiri's expression settled on his typical 'neutral asshole'.

Eiri gestured with his cigarette stub. "Come back to the house. The bastard is going to apologize for being a poor host." He tucked the now unlit butt into his silver and mother-of-pearl inlaid cigarette case and shoved it back into his long sleeve.

"Did everyone run out of things to throw?" laughed Shuichi, grinning at his life partner as he got up from the cushion and walked toward him. He slipped one arm around the taller man's free arm and pulled it to bring Eiri's head down low enough to kiss his cheek affectionately.

"Can we visit your mother's grave later?" he whispered. "I have never met her and want to take her some of the flowers from her garden." At Eiri's single nod, Shu let his lover straighten, but kept a tight grip on his silk-clad arm. "Really? Really really?"

Shu laughed as Eiri growled and shook the singer off his arm. He dashed to the dilapidated tangles, gathered a few flowers of each colour and lovingly tucked them in a pocket he made with the front of his obi.

"Those flowers will wilt quickly, especially close to your stinky body. We will go visit my mother first," Eiri said over his shoulder before he disappeared behind the bushes.

Shu caught the soft expression in his lover's eyes before the man looked away and left. He grinned as he scrambled to catch up with his partner, knowing yet another little chink had been chipped away from his lover's protective armour, letting the sweet and gentle young man of the past emerge the tiniest bit more into the present.

He could not wait to meet Eiri's mother.

* * *

Story Notes:

Sencha tea is a high-grade tea made only from the dark green leaves gathered in the treasured first (early spring) flush. It contains more of the beneficial nutrient antioxidant properties than other green teas, because it is grown in full sunlight, thus it becomes yellowish green in colour. Sencha tastes gently astringent and smells fresh like grass or seaweed.

Engawa: the broad covered veranda around the perimeter of a traditional Japanese house.

Shôji: a sliding screen made of wood and rice paper. These are usually used as exterior doors to traditional homes and you enter the house or room through the sliding shôji.

Setta: zori sandals specifically for men. Zori are a traditional Japanese slipper styled like a Western flip-flop, but the base is made from tatami, wood or vinyl/rubber. The thongs are made of soft plastic or fabric.

Read about Japanese Bobtail cats: 

Karesansui: Literally "dry landscape". A common type of dry landscape garden (also known as rock gardens and waterless stream gardens) which suggests mountains and water using only stones, sand or gravel, and occasionally plants. Water is symbolized both by the arrangements of rock forms to create a dry waterfall (karetaki) and by patterns raked into sand to create a dry stream (karenagare). These gardens are typically associated with Zen Buddhism.

-gardensDOTshtml

min'yō: a Japanese folk song. There are four main kinds of min'yō: work songs, religious songs (such as sato kagura, a form of Shintoist music), songs used for gatherings such as weddings, funerals, and festivals (matsuri, especially Obon), and children's songs (warabe uta).

_music_folkDOThtml

wrist mala: Eiri is wearing multiple wrist mala instead of the usual full mala, which is why Shuichi can hear them clicking together.

Mala are prayer or rosary beads used for reciting repetitions of prayers or chants called "mantras," and help to facilitate ritualized meditation practice. They have been used for thousands of years in Tibetan, Indian, Chinese, Japanese Buddhism and Hinduism.

A full mala is usually 108 counting beads with a formal three holed special finishing bead called a "guru" bead, "mother/parent" bead or "Buddha" bead.

Wrist mala have recently entered popular culture and are usually made from semi-precious stone or wood and have 21 beads and a guru bead, strung on a stretchy cord to be worn around the wrist.

The protective spirit references Shuichi makes are based on the Japanese household system (ie), where the descendents are obligated to take care of the ancestors' altars, memorial tablets and grave ceremonies. In return, the ancestors protect the descendents. While the Uesugi are Buddhist, the Shinto religion believes in the divinity of all Nature's forces. Everything in nature - plants, trees, rocks, flowers, mountains - has protective energies. Shu is taking poetic license, comparing the tree's spirit to Mama Uesugi's spirit. In my universe, the Uesugi matriarch is a beloved character whose altar items and grave are tenderly tended by her children and husband.

-improvement-articlesSLASHplant-spirit-shamanism-shinto-182368DOThtml


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